This captures the Soldier’s contact information and helps determine eligibility, as per current roster procedures. Pay particular attention to listing Instructor and competitive Division/Classifications earned. If these are blank (worse, if you don’t know what this means) you’re probably not eligible. Again, read this entire page first. After completing the entire form, email it to the USAR Marksmanship Program Public Affairs.

4. Upon acceptance (section OIC/NCOIC adds Soldier to Main or Development roster) the section OIC sends memo requesting the Soldier and explaining the US Army Reserve Marksmanship Training and Competitive Program to the Soldier’s commander.

5. Current team/program member retains eligibility of their assigned slot based on current Roster Procedures. Development Roster members are eligible to advance to the Main Roster when vetted as per current Main Roster procedures.

Further Guidelines

“I am interested in competitive shooting. How can I get slot in a military marksmanship program?”

When first learning about military-sponsored shooting teams many troops will ask how they can get a slot. Right now, check for updates to this site and visit us on Facebook (facebook.com/USARMarksmanshipTeam)

Go shoot!

Your first step in earning a slot on a shooting team is to start in competitive shooting. The best way to start in competitive shooting is to go find events, be it military or civilian, on your own, and start attending.

Consider a player vying for a position on a pro sports team. If he doesn’t already have years of solid background with high school and/or college teams, forget it! A couch potato who was never formally participated in that type of event is not going to be offered a tryout. Why bother?

Yet, you’d be amazed how many troops with zero competition shooting experience complain that they can’t get started because no team will give them equipment or fund their travel to a match. For every 100+ troops with no previous relevant competition and instructor experience, maybe one of them is worth a look. Even if/when you earn a slot, you’ll still have to shoot and train on your own so already having places and venues to do so will help long term as well.

Find out what ranges are in your area and look into attending organized civilian events. Where To Shoot, http://wheretoshoot.org/ is a great resource. Nearly every team shooter has a civilian shooting background and the best way to get started is to simply jump in. If you approach a team having already participated in matches and earning higher level classifications on your own, any coach will want you to try out.

Military Sponsored Events

For military sponsored events, find a National Guard sponsored event in your state. Even if you’re not the Guard, you can shoot the EIC (Excellence In Competition) events. The Arkansas Guard, at Camp Robinson, is the national headquarters for this.

All Army is hosted by the Army Marksmanship Unit at Fort Benning every year in the spring and is open to all Active, Reserve and Guard Army personnel. Even if you’re not on a team you can register in advance on your own and be able to borrow guns and get a free place to stay on post. The event is HIGHLY recommended!http://usamu.com/

Two of the USAR CMP’s primary disciplines (Service Rifle and Service Pistol) are shot as civilian conventional competitions recognized by the National Rifle Association and Civilian Marksmanship Program. Shooting Sports USA a free, on-line magazine, lists events.

In addition to Service Rifle, Pistol, and Conditions events, action/practical competition such as PPC (Police Pistol Combat/Precision Pistol Competition), NRA Action Pistol (Bianchi Cup), IDPA, USPSA Handgun and Multigun, and 3 Gun is another competition discipline. This is also the style event you’ll find as a component of AFSAM (Armed Forces Skill at Arms Meeting), All Army, and National Guard hosted events.

BLUF
The bottom line is, if you want to be on a military-sponsored shooting team you need to be a competition shooter. You become a competition shooter by being a competition shooter. Shoot events on your own whenever and wherever you can, attend events like All Army, and earn Classifications in the formal shooting events listed above first. You must begin by doing this on your own beforeapplying for a slot. Stay in contact with the USAR Marksmanship Program through this site and you’ll eventually be able to earn a slot.

The last paragraph is as spot on as it can be. It’s hard to tell Soldiers that the shooting team is not the place to learn HOW, mainly because the Army, in their vast wisdom, rid us all of the “farm team” programs that we had in the past. No longer do we have a venue to grow, mentor, and educate competent marksmanship within the Army Reserve as a whole.

The result of that action can be compared to golf. Get rid of most the golf courses, hold no golf tournaments at local, regional, or state levels, get rid of the golf instructors and let the duffers teach.

Answering the question, “How do I get a slot on the team?” We need shooters who can produce a score, period. The Team mission statement and goals are basically to win at “PGA” levels. How does a duffer with no supported training preform at a level to allow the team to win at that level? He/she DOESNT!

The only way it can be done is to first understand the competitive discipline, then get the gear needed to accomplish that task and start shooting. Attend matches and clinics held around the country. Learn the how-tos and then produce the scores that will draw the attention of the teams.

The service teams are very aware of the people who are shooting at the National Matches held at Camp Perry and look at the scores fired by Reservists there. We have made contact those Soldiers firing good scores there and have offered slots to them. We are also open to be visited while we are at any event as our new team trailer is our rally point at the events we attend. Simply put, we need to see a true commitment to shooting and the USAR.

[…] However, the original shooter-instructors that made the SARG effective continue to instruct via the Army Reserve Mobile Training Team as a component of the shooting teams, as directed by Army Regulation […]